Where and when:
Saturday March 30, 6.45pm
Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast
Member information:
- All members attending the round 1 Gold Coast V St Kilda game will be required to obtain a general admission ticket for entry unless they are an Interstate members and have pre booked their complementary members ticket. Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster outlets.
- St Kilda Membership Cards will not give you access into the ground.
- Tickets can be purchased at the gate via the Ticketmaster windows.
- Adult tickets start at a cost of $25.00
- Junior tickets start at a cost of $5.
- Children under the age of 5 enter for free but cannot occupy a seat.
- The Saints Locker Merchandise Marquee will be set up inside Gate 1 of Metricon Stadium, just to the rear of Bay 115. The outlet will be open all game from 5:30pm local time. Every cent spent at Saints Locker stays at the club so we highly encourage Saints fans to purchase from this location.
- Saints supporters attending the game are encouraged to gather and support the team from aisles 147/148 behind the Cheer squad.
Overview:
Needless to say, both teams will be committed to launching the season in a positive fashion on Saturday evening.
Gold Coast has been competitive for periods of play in the pre-season, without applying the necessary pressure for long enough to achieve desired results.
From a St Kilda perspective, the last six weeks has been largely concerned with getting minutes into players and preparing for this weekend. They’ve beaten the 2012 premier, and lost to the 2012 wooden spooners with some solid performances in between.
The Suns youngsters have another year of experience in them, and are bigger and stronger than this time last year. Now in their third season of AFL football, Guy McKenna’s charges carry a hint of expectation for the first time. How this expectant improvement plays out will be fascinating to watch.
The Saints don’t need to be reminded of their Round 1 loss to Port Adelaide last season. A winning start gets the ball rolling, and Scott Watters won’t want a repeat of last year’s surprise defeat.
Stat focus:
- St Kilda has preferred to use the ball via foot rather than hand all pre-season, electing to gain territory rather than over possess the ball. Watch for a significant differential in favour of kicks on Saturday evening for the Saints.
- The Saints haven’t lost in Queensland since Round 9, 2008.
- Gary Ablett averages 31 disposals over the three games he's played for Gold Coast vs St Kilda. Last time they met Clint Jones ran with Harley Bennell while Ablett was left alone. If the Suns are to win they need Ablett to hurt the Saints on the scoreboard as well as on the stats sheet.
Injury list:
St Kilda:
Rhys Stanley - available
Daniel Markworth – season
Sean Dempster (hamstring) – 1 week
Jackson Ferguson (knee) – 5 weeks
Leigh Montagna (suspended) – 1 week
Gold Coast:
Nathan Bock (leg) – TBC
Jesse Lonergan (hand) – 6 weeks
Tom Lynch (foot) – 1-2 weeks
Liam Patrick (hamstring) – TBC
Campbell Brown (suspended) – 6 weeks
Jacob Gillbee (suspended) – 4 weeks
Timmy Sumner (suspended) – 3 weeks
Seb Tape (knee) – 3-4 weeks
New:
St Kilda:
Tom Hickey (Gold Coast)
Dylan Roberton (Fremantle)
Gold Coast:
Jaeger O’Meara (recruited #1 in 2011 mini draft from Perth Football Club)
Greg Broughton (Fremantle)
Tom Murphy (Hawthorn)
What they say:
Jaeger O’Meara:
“It’s been a long time coming and I’m very excited to get out and play a bit of footy with the boys, hopefully we get the win.”
Guy McKenna:
“We understand the challenge ahead of us [this weekend]. [St Kilda has] smacked us a couple of times by over 90 points. We’ve got a lot of ground to make up … the season really starts now so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
What we say:
Scott Watters:
“You look at [Gold Coast’s] list and you just know that there is rapid improvement and it is ongoing. We expect this game to be, as all opening round are, a flip of the coin and a tough contest.”
“It’s very simple inside a football club. You control your improvement; you control your work ethic and your focus. All of those things are what really counts. People’s perspective or opinion is really quite irrelevant.”
Watch out for:
Saints:
Jack Steven has been all the rage this pre-season at Linen House Centre. His work-rate on the training track has him well positioned for a big season.
Gold Coast:
Steven May is a strong bodied key position player with a beautiful left foot. He has played as a defender and forward and could hurt the Saints if he is given some leeway.
Running hot:
St Kilda:
The last time these two teams met, Nick Riewoldt booted seven goals and was superb from start to finish. The Queenslander would love a similar output on Saturday evening, and the Suns will have their work cut out trying to limit the captain’s influence.
Gold Coast:
Who else but Suns skipper Gary Ablett? He enjoyed a typically dominant 2012 season and also won the Gold Coast’s goal-kicking to go with his best and fairest.
Last time they met:
Round 11, 2012 at Metricon Stadium
Attendance: 12,534
St Kilda 21.18 (144) defeated Gold Coast 7.7 (49)
Disposals: Gram (30), Iles (29)
Goals: Riewoldt (7), Hickey (GC) (2)
